Today Virginia House of Delegates Speaker William J. Howell (R-Stafford) issued the following statement highlighting last week's Quinnipiac University poll in the Commonwealth.
"My colleagues and I in the House of Delegates were recently informed of the results of last week's Quinnipiac poll gauging the Commonwealth's satisfaction with various leaders and initiatives taking place in the Commonwealth," commented Howell.

The poll, administered earlier this month by Quinnipiac University in Connecticut, included approval ratings for U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Jim Webb, Congressman Eric Cantor, Governor Bob McDonnell, Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli as well as the Virginia General Assembly.

Governor Bob McDonnell continues to score high marks with a 63% approval rating. The Virginia General Assembly scored a 47-35 percent approval rating in stark contrast to the record-low 11-80 approval ratings for the United States Congress. Of all states polled by Quinnipiac, Virginia's legislature was the only legislature that earned a positive approval rating.

"By more than 3-1, Virginians are happy with what's going on in the state compared to the country and this optimism shows in their views of state politicians. All statewide elected officials, and even the State Legislature, get thumbs up for their job performance. In these tough times that is pretty remarkable," commented Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

Only 2 percent of Virginians polled were "very satisfied" with the overall direction of the nation, while an additional 17 percent of Virginians indicated they were "somewhat satisfied" with the direction of the nation. In contrast, 10 percent are "very satisfied" with Virginia's direction and 56 percent are "somewhat satisfied" with the direction of the Commonwealth.

"We are proud that the Virginia General Assembly was the only state legislature to receive a positive approval rating in recent Quinnipiac polls. My colleagues and I work hard to understand the diverse issues facing Virginia and fix our problems with commonsense, forward-looking solutions. There can be no greater reward in this job than to see that the Commonwealth approves of the work we are doing for them here in Richmond," said Howell